How to Increase Light Level Early on
Getting your light level up early on can be difficult. You can’t grind any of the Heroic and Nightfall Strikes yet as your gear isn’t strong enough. It’s kind of a catch-22 situation.
The first and most obvious solution is our old pal, Xur. Visit him on the weekend and use strange coins to pick up any helpful exotics or engrams that will boost your light. Also, make sure to pick up the new three of coins consumable which will boost your exotic equipment drop rate.
What you’re going to want to do is use your faction reputations to get some free legendary packages. As long as you’re at least Rank 3, you will receive some kind of reward that should boost your light level, be it armor or a weapon. Make sure to also pledge allegiance to one of the three tower factions, such as New Monarchy, as your completed quests’ bounties will also apply towards them, as well.
In addition to racking up packages, you’re going to want to also start building up your legendary mark bank. Although you probably won’t be able to do the Heroic Strike playlist quite yet, you can still do the daily Crucible map and complete quests that reward Legendary Marks. Use those marks to purchase legendary gear from the tower vendors. Finally, if you get something you don’t need from a package, dismantle it for some marks and put those towards something you do want.
Once your light level is high enough to start running the Heroic and Nightfall playlists, the final phase of your quest to get a high light level begins.
